Seasonal and spatial variations in prey utilization and condition of a piscivorous flatfish Paralichthys olivaceus

Abstract

AB Aquatic Biology Contact the journal Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections AB 11:279-288 (2011) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00319 Seasonal and spatial variations in prey utilization and condition of a piscivorous flatfish Paralichthys olivaceus Takeshi Tomiyama1,3,*, Yutaka Kurita2 1Fukushima Prefectural Fisheries Experimental Station, Iwaki, Fukushima 970-0316, Japan 2Tohoku National Fisheries Research Institute, Shiogama, Miyagi 985-0001, Japan 3Present address: Soma Branch, Fukushima Prefectural Fisheries Experimental Station, Soma 976-0022, Japan *Email: tomiyama_takeshi_01@pref.fukushima.jp ABSTRACT: We investigated the diet and somatic condition of 5129 individual Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus, 20 to 92 cm in total length, in the Joban area along the Pacific coast of Japan (36°40’N to 38°00’N) from 2001 to 2007. Japanese flounder with food in their stomachs (1668 individuals) consumed chiefly fishes (92% of stomach contents by weight). Predominant prey species were Japanese anchovy Engraulis japonica (54% of fishes by weight) and Japanese sandlance Ammodytes personatus (22%). Japanese anchovy were consumed by Japanese flounder year round except in March and April, when the anchovy migrate from the Joban area. In March and April, Japanese flounder frequently consumed Japanese sandlance, but only in the northern part of the Joban area (37°20’N to 38°00’N); Japanese flounder did not feed on this species and had less content in their stomachs in the southern area (36°40’N to 37°20’N), where the sandlance is absent. Somatic and hepatosomatic conditions of Japanese flounder in the northern area were better than those in the southern area in March and April, suggesting that such spatial and seasonal heterogeneities in prey availability affect the nutritional status of predators. KEY WORDS: Spatio-temporal variability · Prey availability · Body condition · Piscivory · Flounder · Generalized linear mixed models Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Tomiyama T, Kurita Y (2011) Seasonal and spatial variations in prey utilization and condition of a piscivorous flatfish Paralichthys olivaceus. Aquat Biol 11:279-288. https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00319 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in AB Vol. 11, No. 3. Online publication date: February 23, 2011 Print ISSN: 1864-7782; Online ISSN: 1864-7790 Copyright © 2011 Inter-Research.